When the sun goes down, and the music fades
I can’t wait until the day when your kingdom sings
When my eyes are dim and my heart is cold
I can’t wait until the day when you’ll heal the pain
chorus: Everlasting father, glorious king
You reign forever, your kingdom sings
Glory, glory be to your name
You’ll lift your children up from the grave
Many hearts cry out, many nations groan,
Waiting for the day when they see your throne
When the world is full, of a war so old
I can’t wait until the day when you split the sky
I can’t wait until the day when peace arises
[k.e.]
© 2007 Words and Music by Karen Hellweg
Used by Permission CCLI #1570588
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
rock or sand
A dance instructor once told me that there is something about our brain that causes us to imitate the other dancers around us. Whether or not the other dancers are doing the correct steps, we still have a natural tendency to do the same. I have experienced this in the simple act of going into the kitchen, finding something to eat, and then having my siblings come in and only want to eat exactly what I have –no matter what other food is available. We may have independent spirits, but we frequently copy the actions of those around us indisputably. I believe there are three major pieces that cause us to conform to the standards of our peers. The first is natural tendency. We absorb so much of the way our peers live, that we find ourselves following. But it goes deeper than just a natural tendency to imitate. The second is peer pressure which often says we must fit into a certain mold and do the acceptable and “cool” thing to do. If we decide to reject this attitude, then most often we ourselves are in great danger of being rejected. Fear of being rejected is evoked and propels us into the massive flow. Finally, the third cause for conforming is because we want something. Everyone has an objective even if they may not realize it. Often we just want to be loved, admired, respected, esteemed…by our peers.
Could it be that most of us are willing to sacrifice our own standards and beliefs to conform to those of our peers in order to avoid being rejected, or to get what we want?
As we conform to the standards of those of our peers, the effects are huge. The moment we sacrifice our standards and go with the flow, our own ideas get eroded and are replaced with the ideas of others. We all just become followers. We are influenced in areas ranging from clothes and music, to our attitudes, our language, and our relationships. We adapt, without much thought. But hella yes, it’s the way to go. Often, I have found myself doing things that I know I shouldn’t, but everyone else seems to have embraced the attitude that it is perfectly alright- a lot of them my friends and with similar ideas and beliefs as mine. For example, I am strongly convinced of the fact that actions have consequences. And yet, many of my peers ignore this fact most of the time. I am persuaded to go with the flow, and yet feel a keen sense of contradiction. My heart throbs with a desire to live for God, but the pressure to conform to an age of ignorance is wearing on me.
Giving into the pressure to conform to the standards of our peers is not bringing about good effects. In fact, it’s crippling. A person who is living in contradiction will break apart unless they make a stand. I would say it is time to stop being followers and start being leaders of our generation. It is time to step out of the flow for a moment to clear our minds of the rubbish that infiltrates our culture and make a bold stand for what we believe in. We should be more like solid rocks, and less like sand that just gets washed away. The solid rock in this case, may not fit in with the multitude of sand, but as it endures the perils of life, it will become polished and shining. It will stand for ages as beacon of true strength, faith, boldness.
k.e.h.
Could it be that most of us are willing to sacrifice our own standards and beliefs to conform to those of our peers in order to avoid being rejected, or to get what we want?
As we conform to the standards of those of our peers, the effects are huge. The moment we sacrifice our standards and go with the flow, our own ideas get eroded and are replaced with the ideas of others. We all just become followers. We are influenced in areas ranging from clothes and music, to our attitudes, our language, and our relationships. We adapt, without much thought. But hella yes, it’s the way to go. Often, I have found myself doing things that I know I shouldn’t, but everyone else seems to have embraced the attitude that it is perfectly alright- a lot of them my friends and with similar ideas and beliefs as mine. For example, I am strongly convinced of the fact that actions have consequences. And yet, many of my peers ignore this fact most of the time. I am persuaded to go with the flow, and yet feel a keen sense of contradiction. My heart throbs with a desire to live for God, but the pressure to conform to an age of ignorance is wearing on me.
Giving into the pressure to conform to the standards of our peers is not bringing about good effects. In fact, it’s crippling. A person who is living in contradiction will break apart unless they make a stand. I would say it is time to stop being followers and start being leaders of our generation. It is time to step out of the flow for a moment to clear our minds of the rubbish that infiltrates our culture and make a bold stand for what we believe in. We should be more like solid rocks, and less like sand that just gets washed away. The solid rock in this case, may not fit in with the multitude of sand, but as it endures the perils of life, it will become polished and shining. It will stand for ages as beacon of true strength, faith, boldness.
k.e.h.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
happiness
Perhaps I was a little too harsh and confining with my previous vague definition of happiness. In order to emphasize and uplift the meaning of joy, I belittled the meaning of happiness, and since have felt a little remorseful. So here I am, sitting with my happy cup of coffee, feeling rather guilty. Though joy and happiness are much different, happiness does go deeper than a cup of coffee. :)
“Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.” –Joseph Addison
Often, we hear the word happiness. We may even experience it; in fact we all have experienced it to some degree even if just for a moment. For some, it is the absence of sorrow, or relief of pain. For others it is an exciting feeling of immense pleasure that can take on many forms, whether it is as small as a piece of chocolate or a scented flower, or something greater like going to your wedding. But what exactly, is pure happiness? From a broad perspective, Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines happiness as “the enjoyment of pleasure without pain, gratifying desires, luck, or fortune.” The word happy is similarly defined as lucky, fortunate, and successful. Furthermore, it defines happy as “receiving good from something that springs up to us unexpectedly, and that is out of our control.” Finally, it says that “the pleasurable sensations derived from the gratification of sensual appetites render a person temporarily happy; but he only can be esteemed really and permanently happy, who enjoys peace of mind in the favor of God.”
For me, happiness often springs up. I find pleasure in many things-sunshine, rain, tea, warm socks, chocolate. Yet, what is the fundamental aspect of happiness? I believe Joseph Addison was right in his “three grand essentials”. The first, “something to do”, could very well mean a life work- doing what we do best and working diligently to accomplish what we are called to do. No matter how small or great, finding something that we can do well, and contributing to life and giving to others is fulfilling, and does bring happiness-perhaps prosperity, which brings us back to the definition of happiness. The second essential is love. Having something or someone to love and receiving love back is crucial for happiness. In fact, I believe happiness in its purest form is love. Love expressed through words, actions, time spent with another, gifts received or given, and other ways. In a way, happiness can be given and received by the form of love.
Finally, in the third grand essential, “something to hope for,” indicates happiness in the future. In Webster’s dictionary, it says that “to be in any degree happy we must be free from pain both of body and of mind.” Furthermore, it says “perfect happiness, or pleasure unalloyed with pain, is not attainable in this life.” I would agree, and assume from these defining points in Webster’s dictionary that we can only experience partial happiness -tastes of it in this life. For this reason, it points back to the statement about one who “enjoys peace of mind in the favor of God”, can really only be “esteemed really and permanently happy”. I believe this is true, and the hope that I embrace is one not rooted in this world, but one of heaven that is yet to come. Hoping for something brings energy to keep on and anticipation for happiness, whether it is something that can be attained on this earth, or eternally. Happiness can be described in a thousand ways, just as there are a thousand different things that can bring happiness, but I would conclude that the three grand essentials shape the major pieces of our happiness with love being the most prominent. I know that God’s love for me has been the greatest happiness I have experienced, and my eyes are ever fixed on the completion of that happiness in being forever with Him. I think George Sand was not far off when he said, “There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.”
k.e.h.
“Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.” –Joseph Addison
Often, we hear the word happiness. We may even experience it; in fact we all have experienced it to some degree even if just for a moment. For some, it is the absence of sorrow, or relief of pain. For others it is an exciting feeling of immense pleasure that can take on many forms, whether it is as small as a piece of chocolate or a scented flower, or something greater like going to your wedding. But what exactly, is pure happiness? From a broad perspective, Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines happiness as “the enjoyment of pleasure without pain, gratifying desires, luck, or fortune.” The word happy is similarly defined as lucky, fortunate, and successful. Furthermore, it defines happy as “receiving good from something that springs up to us unexpectedly, and that is out of our control.” Finally, it says that “the pleasurable sensations derived from the gratification of sensual appetites render a person temporarily happy; but he only can be esteemed really and permanently happy, who enjoys peace of mind in the favor of God.”
For me, happiness often springs up. I find pleasure in many things-sunshine, rain, tea, warm socks, chocolate. Yet, what is the fundamental aspect of happiness? I believe Joseph Addison was right in his “three grand essentials”. The first, “something to do”, could very well mean a life work- doing what we do best and working diligently to accomplish what we are called to do. No matter how small or great, finding something that we can do well, and contributing to life and giving to others is fulfilling, and does bring happiness-perhaps prosperity, which brings us back to the definition of happiness. The second essential is love. Having something or someone to love and receiving love back is crucial for happiness. In fact, I believe happiness in its purest form is love. Love expressed through words, actions, time spent with another, gifts received or given, and other ways. In a way, happiness can be given and received by the form of love.
Finally, in the third grand essential, “something to hope for,” indicates happiness in the future. In Webster’s dictionary, it says that “to be in any degree happy we must be free from pain both of body and of mind.” Furthermore, it says “perfect happiness, or pleasure unalloyed with pain, is not attainable in this life.” I would agree, and assume from these defining points in Webster’s dictionary that we can only experience partial happiness -tastes of it in this life. For this reason, it points back to the statement about one who “enjoys peace of mind in the favor of God”, can really only be “esteemed really and permanently happy”. I believe this is true, and the hope that I embrace is one not rooted in this world, but one of heaven that is yet to come. Hoping for something brings energy to keep on and anticipation for happiness, whether it is something that can be attained on this earth, or eternally. Happiness can be described in a thousand ways, just as there are a thousand different things that can bring happiness, but I would conclude that the three grand essentials shape the major pieces of our happiness with love being the most prominent. I know that God’s love for me has been the greatest happiness I have experienced, and my eyes are ever fixed on the completion of that happiness in being forever with Him. I think George Sand was not far off when he said, “There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.”
k.e.h.
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